How To Make Writing Fun

You don’t need to always have a purpose. Here are some ideas.

I’ve often pondered the premise of Desert Island Discs. If, by some twist of fate, I ended up alone on an island, devoid of company and possessions, what records would I listen to, which book would I take, and what other luxury item would I choose? The music selection is a task for another day. After all, I’d probably have to be on a desert island in the first place to have the headspace to whittle down all the wonderful songs I’ve heard into a select few. Likewise, with a book — I can only take one? Jeez! The luxury item is easier. Alone with all the time in the world to do whatever I want to do, it’s a no-brainer. I’d have a huge stack of paper, or some kind of magical paper-refilling notebook with a pen attached, to stretch this to one item to fit within the rules of the game. I’d write. I already have music and a book, so I’d sit and write my own stories to read another day. The point is, if there were few other things to do, I would write. There would be no distractions. Writing would be my lifeblood. I would have no reason to do it other than to write for enjoyment. What if it could be possible to capture this feeling immediately without being deserted on a tropical island? It is. Free yourself from distractions now. Allow yourself the luxury in your daily life. You can write for YOU. You can write for FUN.

We need to recapture fun. Am I alone in feeling foolish when describing something as fun? It’s almost like we think fun ends when we grow up. Fun is just for kids. Actually, it’s not. Would the word joy sit better? We are allowed to have fun. We are allowed to say we’re having fun. We are allowed to experience joy. So, we’re off the island now-what would you do for fun? Completely ignore all your commitments and other distractions for now. What would you do? I’d write. Let go of any emotional or practical attachments. There’s no need to worry whether someone would pay you for a piece or whether anyone would like it, just do it for yourself and see how it makes you feel. So, how can you write for fun? There are lots of ways. I’ll explore a few below.

Poetry

Whether you write silly limericks or sonnets, writing poetry can be fun. There’s no standard structure for poetry, so you can set your own flow. A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to prose, or a verse is in a song. It can be organised to include rhyming words, matching syllables, or just free-flowing unstructured verse. You can be as creative as you like. There’s plenty of information on the internet for inspiration. Here’s what Dylan Thomas had to say about poetry:

“Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toenails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own.”

Short stories

If you enjoy writing fiction but don’t have the stamina for a novel (yet), short stories are a great place to start. As with longer fiction, a short story should have a structure (beginning, middle, and end) and be easy and enjoyable to read. Short stories can sometimes be read in one go and may feature only one or two characters.

“A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” Lorrie Moore.

Gratitude journaling

It may sound a bit icky to some readers to write about what you are grateful for. I hear ya. I resisted at first. I felt a bit silly sometimes, having to wrack my brain for things I was grateful for in a day. Sometimes nothing sprung to mind except the obvious entries about family and friends. However, you are training your mind to be more positive, to seek out the good. It’s a good practice to adopt. I like to do it in the evening before I go to sleep. I occasionally re-read what I have written and get a double dose of gratitude and nostalgia reading what is, essentially, a mini diary entry for a particular date. Three things are enough. Three things you feel grateful for, or three things that make you happy. Give it a go.

Free flow writing

Set a timer for 10 minutes, or however long you’d like to write for, and just write. Write about anything at all. It might all be complete nonsense, or you may unearth some real nuggets upon reading it back. The idea is to write and not think or edit as you go. It can also be a therapeutic practice. If, for example, you are feeling overwhelmed and have lots of thoughts buzzing around your head, you can do a brain dump which is similar to free flow writing. Seeing all your thoughts in black and white can minimise the importance of the things vying for attention in your head and render some irrelevant. It is a helpful practice to do in the evening. Leave the timer off for this one and get it all out. Emptying your head before bed could lead to improved sleep quality as well.

In conclusion, all writing should be fun. Unless you are up against a hard deadline from a publisher, nobody is forcing you to write. You probably do it because you enjoy it on some level. So, take the pressure off. Write for you. Write because you want to. Write because you are good at expressing yourself. Write because it is fun. Write now. Write later. Write forever.

If you like my words, please give me a clap or a few dozen.

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Originally published on 25 July 2023.